Real wood case on Sansui 8080?

[Bruce Kelley]

I recently purchased a Sansui 8080 and it has a real wood case (teak, I think?). The ads back in the day say that the 8080 has a simulated wood grain case. Was real wood an option? Homemade? Would a 9090 case fit an 8080? Just curious . . .

 

[ivandezande]

8080 should be vinyl, and doesn't fit a 9090.

 

[Bruce Kelley]

 

[Bruce Kelley]

 

[LBPete]

The cases are interchangeable between the 8080, 9090, 8080DB and 9090DB. The 8080 and 8080DB had vinyl wood grain and a flat leading edge while the 9090 and 9090DB had real walnut wood veneer with a beveled leading edge. The case in the pictures looks like it has a flat leading edge so it's probably the original 8080 case that has been veneered with real wood. Looks like a nice veneer job.

- Pete

 

[LBPete]

Actually now looking at it again, it may just have had the vinyl removed and the plywood underneath stained. The raw plywood is nothing special. There is a guy on eBay now selling this refinishing service.

- Pete

 

[AlTinkster92]

My 8080DB with aftermarket cabinet. Should fit a 8080or 9090 just fine.

 

[Sansuiman]

I re-veneered an 8080 many years ago in oak, then stained very dark with a satin poly finish. Looked fairly decent, but my skills have improved quite a bit since then. Traded it away to a gentleman in Canada for some other gear. Maybe a year after that, I saw it listed on ebay.

Point being, it is entirely possible to find one with real wood veneer on it. And now with multiple vendors selling newly made real wood cabinets, even more likely they'll periodically turn up so fitted on resale.